Adam Azim on sharks, heights, reading Harry Potter...

Adam Azim is going through his fears one after the other.

These embody sharks, heights and sitting down quietly to learn a guide.

Sergey Lipinets, nevertheless, will not be listed amongst them. Azim fights the previous world champion, a harmful and seasoned veteran, tonight at Wembley Enviornment, reside on Sky Sports activities.

“No concern of Lipinets. Any opponent I face, I respect them, I extremely respect them however after I get in that ring, I change. Straight into focus,” Azim informed Sky Sports activities.

The boxer is a person of motion. However he’s making an attempt to raised himself. He is working to enhance his communication abilities as he prepares for sporting stardom, and he is doing that by studying, beginning off with Harry Potter.

“Studying a guide, there’s lots of considering course of studying a guide. I’ve received ADHD. It is truly laborious to sit down nonetheless. I would learn a few pages, I would swipe on telephone, learn one other couple of pages,” Azim defined.

“I feel I would reasonably have a struggle than sit and browse a guide. Studying a guide is typically traumatic.

“It is a large problem for myself as properly as a result of if I need to get higher at English I’ve received to learn and be a talker,” he added. “I by no means used to pay attention.

“I’ve to do stuff out of my consolation zone to make myself a greater particular person typically.”

He intends to maintain on conquering his fears. “I love to do scary stuff,” Azim mentioned. “I’ve achieved the skydiving. I hate heights. I hate heights to bits however it was one thing on the bucket record I wished to do.

“I will do others like scuba diving or one thing. One factor I hate is sharks…”

However performing within the boxing ring, beneath the lights in entrance of 1000’s of spectators, and towards an all-action fighter who has fought a number of the greatest within the sport, doesn’t hassle him.

“It may be an ideal struggle. Lipinets is clearly a former world champion and the one approach that he will struggle is coming ahead,” Azim mentioned.

“He will try to use that strain towards me. However I do like individuals who come at me.

“I have been coaching actually laborious for this struggle,” he added. “Sergey, he will put the whole lot into it. As a result of he is received that have, he will come give it a go. I do know for positive that that is going to be a very good struggle.”

Lipinets himself had a warning for Azim. “He is in the best way of my belt,” the Kazakh, who is set to change into a two-time world champion, informed Sky Sports activities. “He is solely 22 years previous and he hasn’t fought at a stage like mine.

“Many champions did not take the struggle with me as a result of it is laborious,” he added. “It is a massive step as a result of I’ve fought with good fighters like Mikey Garcia, [Jaron] Ennis, and we’ll see what his stage is. I feel he needs to verify this too. Is he on a champion’s stage or not but?

“I respect that he isn’t scared to take this struggle, as a result of it is a laborious struggle. And we’ll see if he is prepared for this struggle or if it is a massive mistake.”

Azim is satisfied that he’s certainly prepared. “Every struggle I am bettering on a regular basis. I really feel like this struggle I am going to present my full bundle as a world-class athlete. And I really feel like that is my time to shine.”

He needs to make use of this contest to show that he’s a world champion in ready.

“That is my most important aim for this struggle. I need to do a greater job on him than ‘Boots’ [Ennis, the IBF welterweight world champion]. The best way that ‘Boots’ beat him was truly with pace and I’ve received pace. To get him on the market could be good,” Azim mentioned.

“Hopefully do it faster than six rounds.”

If Azim would possibly learn books to problem himself in addition to in search of out different assessments for his leisure time, he’ll nonetheless unwind after this subsequent struggle. That can embody reconnecting together with his newly acquired pet goat.

“The goat, I’ve not seen it for some time. It has been within the farm, he is getting fed, he is getting greater,” Azim smiled.

“He saved working away from me, out of my palms. Began to calm down. He is nonetheless slightly child… Hopefully he will get greater and I can take him out for a stroll possibly.

He added: “I need to be the GOAT*. So I needed to get a goat.”

(*The Best of All Time.)

Watch Adam Azim vs Sergey Lipinets on Saturday, reside on Sky Sports activities from 7pm. Not received Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.